Oc Eo – Funan Canal Port, Mekong Delta
Oc Eo harbour · O Keo · K. 5 Funan port
Funan to Khmer (2nd c. BCE – 1200 CE)·Funan (Austroasiatic) / Indianized / Khmer·🇻🇳 An Giang Province, Thoai Son, Vietnam
About
About Oc Eo – Funan Canal Port, Mekong Delta
Oc Eo, Funan capital port (2nd–12th c. CE) on Mekong delta canal network, preserves moated brick harbour city 3 km² with Oc Eo culture canals 18 km linking to Angkor Borei, now 4 m silted under delta paddy at 3 m asl. Malleret (1944), Lê-Wicks–Stark coring (2001–2018) mapped brick enclosure, stone Vishnu workshop, and canal harbour quay 100 m buried 2 m with Roman medallion, Indian bead, and Funan glass. The Oc Eo–Angkor Borei canal system's harbour siltation by Mekong after 1200 CE sealed port; the 12 ha Roman coin hoard horizon anchors Indian Ocean trade via Kra.
Why it mattersOnly Funan canal port with Roman–Indian–Chinese trichrome; canal network anchors Mekong delta geoarchaeology and Funan chronology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether Oc Eo was Funan capital or secondary port to Angkor Borei
Theories
- 01Kra isthmus transpeninsular canal linked Oc Eo to Roman Indian Ocean
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 2nd c. CE (Funan port); canals 1st c. CE
- Period
- Funan to Khmer (2nd c. BCE – 1200 CE)
- Culture
- Funan (Austroasiatic) / Indianized / Khmer
- Purpose
- Mekong delta entrepôt – Indian Ocean beads, Roman coins, Vishnu icons to China
- Abandoned
- 1200 CE (Mekong delta silt and Khmer Angkor hydraulic shift)
- Rediscovered
- 1944 Malleret; 1990s Lê-Wicks coring; 2015 harbour quay trench
- Excavation
- Buried
2nd c. CE
Oc Eo canal port flourishes; brick moat built
1200 CE
Mekong silt seals harbour canals
1944
Malleret maps 3 km² moated harbour
On the ground
Structures & features
10.2330° N · 105.1670° E · 3 m · 3 mapped features
Moated Brick City
harbour3 km² moated brick city with Vishnu workshop at Oc Eo – Funan Canal Port, Mekong Delta
10.2350° N · 105.1680° ECanal to Angkor Borei
canal18 km canal to Angkor Borei – Funan ship canal silted at Oc Eo – Funan Canal Port, Mekong Delta
10.2320° N · 105.1660° EBrick Harbour Quay
quay100 m brick quay buried 2 m – Roman medallion horizon at Oc Eo – Funan Canal Port, Mekong Delta
10.2330° N · 105.1670° E
Gallery